“You awake back there, Vi?” Tavi called from the front of the carriage.

“You know it, got a fresh beat running through my brainy bits and just had to write it down,” I replied with false excitement. I must’ve seemed too cheerful, as Octavia turned to look back at me with her expression speaking volumes about how much she doubted my mood.

“Well, do that and get ready at the same time then. We’re closing in on Ponyville,” Tavi warned, making my blood run cold for a split second. Ponyville, oh how I wished I could close my club there and stay in canterlot. My friends were cool, but having Jekyll and Jeff around all the time killed my vibe.

But even if I could justify closing my club, which I couldn’t, I’d still have to come back with Tavi for her recitals. Missing them wasn’t an option. With a heavy sigh, I set my quill down and slipped my trademark glasses over my eyes. I’d left my shoes on during the trip so I wasn’t worried about tracking them down and getting the hooks back into my hooves. After a moment to think about how paranoid everyone had gotten, I slipped a pair of knee high boots overtop of the steel horseshoes. It would be harder to play off as being for style, but the added security would do wonders for my stress levels.

“Hey,” Tavi whispered, appearing at my side and making me jump.

“Fucking hell Tavi, you’re gonna give me a heart attack one of these days,” I complained as I placed a protective hoof over my chest.

“Worrying about you will give me one first,” Tavi rebutted, “Nopony will think any less of you for stepping out after that monster threatened your equipment, especially not me.”

“It’s just stuff, they know I have more turntables. That’s not why I’m here anyway, we both know I’d never miss one of your shows,” I countered as I reached up and pulled the other mare into a hug, which was reciprocated eagerly for a moment before Tavi pushed me away.

“I know, but what if I asked you to? You hate being in Ponyville, even more so these days, why not sit this one out and let me try to get the shows moved somewhere better for you?” Tavi offered. She squeaked adorably when I leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips, ever uncomfortable with shows of affection.

“Because you love it here, and that matters so much more to me. I’ll just focus on my music until we get to the party, then we’ll deal with Jeffrey,” I replied with a faux grin as I spun a disc on my hoof.

“Vinyl, please take this seriously. Seeing you so anxious just kills me inside, not to mention the risk,” Octavia pleaded.

“Keep your voice down!” I hissed as I covered my marefriend’s mouth, “We don’t talk about that, especially not here where the dirt can listen in.”

Octavia nodded apologetically, prompting me to uncover her mouth and hug her as I prayed nothing came of her slip up. I waited, shivering in fear as I held onto Tavi. Nothing happened, the carriage didn’t explode into the gaping jaws I knew Jeffrey had, the wheels didn’t fall off from enforcers slashing them to stop and interrogate us. Nothing.

“We’re not there yet, I stopped us just outside so we could talk,” Tavi explained, “But I’m sorry for scaring you so much. It’s just that everything is so much worse now that he’s around.”

“Tavi, please stop talking,” I requested, “You’re just freaking me out even more.”

“I’m sorry, but the way Jekyll threatened your equipment just makes me so mad. You don’t mess with a musicians instrument,” Tavi declared with a stomp, prompting me to back away so she could pace angrily.

“At least it’s making the club more popular,” I allowed sourly.

“And that’s forcing us to come down here even more often! Don’t get me wrong, Ponyville is a nice place, but I hate seeing you so anxious,” Tavi nearly shouted.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, we might as well take advantage of the popularity spike. Nopony but you can read my emotions anyway,” I countered.

“And if Jeff catches a loose hair? What then? What if your real name makes it all the way back to your father? How will he react? Sorry. Sorry. I’m getting worked up again,” Tavi apologized once she saw me starting to hyperventilate.

What if he had me killed? What if he went after Tavi too? What if he set out to make me kill myself by burning down all of my clubs during peak party hours and trapping thousands of ponies inside? Tavi and I had a charity event next week, there would be dozens of orphans in the crowd. What if he already knew where I was and planned to kill them instead?

Tavi’s sudden hug helped, but she still had to help me down when my legs gave out under me. Her natural earth pony strength, built up over years of keeping up with me and carrying her cello, made it easy for her to pick me up and carry my curled form to the only bed in the small carriage. Tavi silently climbed onto the bed next to me and held me to her chest until my panic attack faded.

“Tavi?” I whispered as I felt my legs relax and start to uncurl.

“Just breathe Vi, it’ll all be okay. I was just being stupid,” Tavi cooed gently.

“I think I’m alright now. Thanks for being here, I don’t know how I’d get by without you,” I commented quietly.

“The same way you did before we met?” Tavi guessed, making me chuckle sadly.

“I cried all the time and wore a burlap sack as a hood so nopony could see my eyes. I didn’t get by,” I replied uselessly, Tavi knew the state I was in when we met. I pulled off my glasses and turned them around so I could look into the heavily tinted lenses before cradling my most prized possession to my chest.

“They’re starting to get pretty beat up, I’ll have to get you a new set soon,” Tavi appraised. I smiled at her implied joke. Tavi wasn’t poor by any stretch, but my clubs pulled in way more bits every night than she made in a month. I could buy a new set of glasses every day if I wanted, but these were special. These glasses were the start of our friendship, the first act of kindness that sparked a musical duo for the ages.

“I wouldn’t wear them,” I replied softly, “I’ll get these repaired and enchanted and whatever else I can do to make them last forever instead.”

“Three bits at a random stand in Hoofington, who knew a defective set of tinted sunglasses would mean so much,” Tavi laughed.

“They were your last three bits, that’s why they mean so much,” I reminded the mare. We had this same conversation every time I had a panic attack, Tavi would only play dumb to make me remember that I wasn’t alone anymore. That she cared.

“I dread the day you’ve decided that you’ve paid me back,” Tavi joked, breaking our usual tradition.

“I’m not that shallow Tavi, I pay you for your performances in my clubs because they pull in customers. Just like everypony else,” I retorted.

“You didn’t buy Sapphire Shores a self propelled carriage,” Tavi pointed out.

“I’m not sleeping with Sapphire Shores either,” I countered, making Tavi blush, “I’m not your meal ticket Tavi, I’m your marefriend. I just wish I was strong like you.”

“Strong? Vi, you’re the only non earth pony I know that can pick me up. Well, aside from Bulk, but he doesn’t count,” Tavi argued.

“Next you’re going to tell me you were powerless against that worm of a producer,” I deadpanned.

“He was a unicorn, how was I supposed to fight back against magic?” Tavi protested.

“The same way I did?” I offered.

“I guess, but I don’t think I would’ve killed him,” Tavi allowed.

“How long are you going to bug me about that?” I complained, “Even the guards said it was an accident and self defense, nopony could’ve known he’d trip and hit his desk like that.”

“I know, but you’re adorable when you squirm,” Tavi teased as her hoof brushed over my cutie mark, the light touch making me shiver. I usually hated it when ponies touched me, but I made an exception for Tavi. She was the only one I actually liked being in contact with.

“Careful Tavi, you’re pressing some buttons while I’m emotionally vulnerable. Any more and you might do some serious damage by backing out,” I warned as I reached over Tavi to set my glasses on the nightstand.

“Now what kind of marefriend would I be if I did something that mean?” Tavi purred as she nuzzled into my neck, giving me the perfect angle to nibble on her ear the way she liked. She’d played more than one show with one ear tinted an angry red, though most ponies agreed that those were her best performances.

“Thanks Tavi, thanks for being my friend,” I whispered as Tavi kissed her way up my neck. I felt all of my stresses and fears melt away with each kiss, replaced by the love I felt for the one I’d chosen to spend my life with. It would seem Tavi felt the same way, it wasn’t usually like her to be so assertive.

“Is that all we are?” Tavi asked when she finished mapping the line of my jaw and let me roll her over to take my turn warming her up.

“No, but you’re still my best friend,” I replied between kisses.

Things continued to get more and more heated until a knock at the rear door of our carriage interrupted us, causing Tavi and I to tangle and fall off the low bed as we scrambled to make ourselves decent before the door could be opened. Tavi made it to her hooves first and giggled as she moved to poke her head out the door, keeping it as closed as possible to keep me hidden as I pawed at her hind legs.

“Trixie… I saw your carriage, is everything alright?” a mare’s voice asked, correcting herself mid-sentence.

“Oh yes, just resting before my performance tonight,” Tavi lied.

“Taaaaaviiiii, tell her to fuck off and come baaaack!” I whined piteously, causing Octavia to go white with embarrassment.

“Dammit Vi,” Tavi sighed after fixing me with a glare and turning back to whoever had interrupted us, “Sorry about her, she’s… obnoxious sometimes.”

“Tixie understands-I understand, I’m working on a similar issue myself. Good luck on your performance, I hope to see you around sometime,” Trixie replied.

“You could always travel with us, start a little convoy into Ponyville,” Tavi offered, causing me to groan loudly in frustration. Why was my marefriend so nice?

“I’m never going to that place again, they hate me and I can’t look at him without almost passing out. I’m actually travelling around the town on my way to Canterlot,” Trixie responded sourly.

“Could you excuse us for one second?” Tavi requested before moving away from the door and dragging me to my hooves, “She could be your way out Vi, you could hitch a ride with this Trixie mare back to Canterlot.”

“I also could’ve stayed there, I’m coming with you because my favorite place is by your side,” I countered.

“Dammit Vi,” Tavi repeated, “It won’t be the end of the world if you miss one of my performances.”

“It sounds like you don’t want me around anymore,” I whimpered piteously.

“Vinyl,” Tavi warned.

“Fine! Go play your stupid chello, I hope they arrange you so you won’t be able to see my empty seat,” I snapped as I turned away from Tavi and sat on the other end of the carriage, though that was only about four feet away.

“Vinyl Scratch, how long have we been together?” Tavi demanded.

“Eight years, three months, and twelve days,” I answered easily before noticing Tavi’s look and adding, “Yes, I do in fact count the days.”

“That’s only a little obsessive. Anyway, how many shows have I played in that time? Nevermind, I’m sure you’ve counted those too. What would your percentage be if you missed one? Ninety-nine point nine nine repeating? Hoofball players everywhere would kill for an average that high,” Tavi argued.

“I don’t care. Even if Jeff makes me so uncomfortable that I get sick, I’ll hold my lunch through your whole recital anyway,” I declared adamantly.

“I’d call you crazy and leave you on the side of the road if that wasn’t sweet, in your weird way of being sweet. But I still don’t think you need to torture yourself for me,” Tavi acknowledged, her gaze faltering with her arguments.

“Torture? Please, your blanket hogging is worse than this,” I joked, getting a blank stare in return.

“Vinyl,” Tavi began flatly as she picked up my glasses and held them out for me, “Go be social while I get the carriage running, but next time you’re staying home.”

“No promises on that,” I chuckled as I slipped my glasses on and added a winning smile before hopping out of the cart. A light blue mare sat in the street with her gave locked on a piece of scrap paper held in her hoof.

“Are you Vinyl Scratch?” the pony asked without looking up.

“Are you being serious?” I countered, matching her tone.

“Hmm?” Trixie murmured as she finally looked up, saw my trademark digs, and promptly facehoofed, “Of course I run into another famous pony, as though there wasn’t enough evidence that I’m a failure.”

“That sucks, so why are you still dragging that cart around if you’ve stopped trying?” I asked.

“What?” Trixie stumbled, caught off guard by my question.

“My definition of failure is to stop trying, something Tavi taught me when we first met. You can’t be a failure if you don’t give up,” I advised.

“You’re right, I’ve just been trying to do the wrong thing. Come on then Vinyl, let’s get you to Canterlot,” Trixie declared.

“Um, no,” I replied flatly as I turned back to find our carriage rolling away towards Ponyville, “Dammit Tavi! I’ll get you for this!”

“So can we go now?” Trixie asked hopefully, “Octavia’s letter mentioned payment for escorting you.”

I looked to the note in Trixie’s hoof and scowled, unwilling to budge a single inch away from Ponyville. My pride had been challenged and I would answer this call. I ignored Trixie’s protests as I stomped towards the town, at least until she grabbed my hips.

“Let go of me,” I warned quietly, the barely contained rage in my voice enough for the unicorn to get the hint and remove her hooves from my flanks.

“I’m sorry, but I need this. If Octavia gives me a job doing effects for her orchestra, I’ll finally be able to make a name for myself,” Trixie pleaded.

“Sucks to be you, I’m following my marefriend,” I replied as I cantered away. Again, Trixie tried to stop me, this time by grabbing my tail with her magic.

“Pl-” Trixie managed before I rounded on her and vented my frustrations.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME, I hate being touched. I don’t know how much clearer I can be. I want you to do well, but I’m not going to let you stop me either. I’m going to Ponyville, and that’s final,” I declared.

“But-but-” Trixie stuttered, looking to be on the verge of tears.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my muzzle, knowing I was about to be far too nice, “Jekyll isn’t there Trixie, he left.”

“What? How could you know that?” Trixie demanded, her astonishment overriding her fear.

“That giant thing next to the town is gone, all the papers say it’s his home. So it would stand to reason that the only reason the giant is gone is if Jekyll left too,” I explained slowly.

“I guess that makes sense,” Trixie allowed, “So what then, you expect me to follow you to Ponyville and then turn around to take you back to Canterlot?”

“I don’t expect you to do anything, I can take care of myself,” I replied with a shrug before turning to walk away again. I actually made it a decent distance this time before Trixie caught up with me, cart and all.

“So are we friends now or something?” Trixie asked casually, as though trying to pass the time.

“I only have two friends, one I live with and another that didn’t give me a choice, everypony else is a business relationship,” I responded.

“Sounds lonely... I can relate, I don’t have any friends,” Trixie commented.

“Hmm,” I grunted quietly before falling silent.

“You seem a lot happier onstage,” Trixie continued.

“I’m only happy onstage, with Tavi, or when I’m writing a new song. Everything else is just a chore,” I replied.

“That sounds dull. What about practicing magic? That always cheers me up,” Trixie suggested, making me scowl again.

“I don’t like to talk about it,” I snapped harshly, though Trixie either didn’t notice my tone or willfully ignored it.

“Talk about what? Did you have a bad teacher?” Trixie guessed.

“I don’t have any magic to practice, this thing on my head is as useless as teats on a stallion,” I revealed, making Trixie gasp in horror.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Can I ask what happened?” Trixie apologized.

“Nothing happened, I’ve always been like this. Tavi will tell you the same thing, I’m an earth pony with a horn,” I spat angrily as I looked into the dust of the road.

“I’ll shut up now if you want, but I have one last question. Why are you being so nice to me?” Trixie asked, actually halting me as my head swiveled up to stare at the mare.

“Nice? You call my attitude being nice? I’ve barely tolerated you,” I pointed out.

“But you have tolerated me, I’m not used to that,” Trixie confessed, reminding me of my own time as a vagabond and recluse.

“I do want you to stop talking, but there’s something you should hear,” I began as I started walking again, “Tavi and I, we weren’t always super cool music masters. She was a starving artist in Hoofington and I was a homeless thief that didn’t know what kindness was. She bought me these glasses with her last three bits for no reason other than that she saw me covering my eyes when ponies got too close.”

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” Trixie asked.

“They’re red, most ponies think I’m a vampony or something when they see me without my glasses. Anyhow, we became friends pretty quickly and recorded a duet on impulse. We got lucky and it was a hit, netting us enough bits for me to give up stealing food and start thinking of business plans. I came up with an awesome idea for a dance club and Tavi threw her share in to back me up, things just kind of snowballed from there,” I continued.

“One friend was all it took for all of that to happen? I never realized how important friends were,” Trixie commented, “Wait, does that mean Octavia gets half of all the proceeds from your clubs?”

“Just the one in Hoofington, the rest are all mine. I reinvested as much as possible to expand the club scene in Equestria, Tavi puts hers into a scholarship fund to help ponies like us get into music school. She hasn’t needed to worry about bits since she was asked to join the orchestra anyway, not that I wouldn’t give her my last horseshoe,” I corrected.

“You seem really attached to her, but your story makes you seem more like equals. What aren’t you telling me?” Trixie pressed suspiciously.

“Nothing sinister. I told you she was my marefriend, I wasn’t kidding about that. I’d cut out my own heart if she needed a new one, I love her that much,” I sighed as thoughts of our time together drifted through my mind.

“So why did she leave you behind?” Trixie continued.

“I’m curious about that as well,” Jeffrey added from my other side, his effeminate voice smooth enough to avoid startling me as I turned to look at the vaguely pony shaped mass of disjointed bones and eyes that glided along the ground beside me.

“Because you freak me out,” I replied, though not maliciously.

“I’m still working on looking more approachable,” Jeffrey responded apologetically, “Or did you mean that fear about me accidentally telling your parents?”

“Your parents?” Trixie repeated.

“Let’s just say that I never even considered going back home, not even when I was starving to death,” I replied curtly.

“I wouldn’t bother dear, I’ve been trying for ages and I haven’t been able to get any more than that,” Jeffrey added when Trixie opened her mouth to speak, prompting the unicorn to close it without saying anything, “Are you sure they’re still alive?”

“Yep, I keep an ear to the rumors,” I allowed.

Trixie finally decided to honor her promise to stay quiet while she digested what I had said and figured out how to apply the lessons I had learned into her own life, at least I hoped that’s what she was doing. Jeffrey just seemed content to follow along in silence.

We were almost to the first structures when Trixie spoke up again, though by this point I welcomed the distraction, “Are boots back in style?”

“I don’t follow fashion trends, I make them,” I boasted.

“Vinyl’s hatred of being touched includes me,” Jeffrey corrected, causing me to grumble petulantly and Trixie to giggle.

“Yeah… I don’t like being touched,” I confessed.

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed,” Trixie snarked, her voice dripping with enough sarcasm to fill a swimming pool.

“That does raise a question I’ve had for a long time, how did you know to put on hoofwear before I was made public?” Jeffrey asked.

“You’ve got it backwards. I was putting on shoes and boots because I was getting anxious in town, I knew why after we met,” I replied, getting a nod from the leviathan.

“A gut feeling then. Or maybe you’re a rogue spying on the town for Dopple,” Jeffrey teased, making Trixie look over in surprise, “Of course, my father’s creations all have red eyes, I could dismiss those possibilities quite easily.”

“Don’t be an ass Jeff, you know how self conscious I am about my eyes. Learning that his… things had the same eye color only made it worse,” I complained.

“Vinyl? He’s joking right? That’s not really a thing, is it?” Trixie asked fearfully as she shifted a half step away from me.

“Both are quite true. I cannot confirm that Vinyl isn’t a rogue because she won’t let me take a sample, but all bioforms have red eyes unless otherwise altered by Jekyll himself,” Jeffrey confirmed.

“It’s also a natural pony eye color, just really rare,” I added quickly before Trixie could run herself off the road.

“Oh geez, why’d you two have to say that? Now I’m gonna be all freaked out for the rest of the trip,” Trixie whined as she slowly eased back in.

“Oh please, I’m not a monster. I make music for crying out loud. I have a marefriend that I love. Back me up here Jeff, is my love for Tavi in dispute?” I demanded, getting pretty tired of these accusations.

“No,” Jeffrey answered instantly, his tone making it clear that the answer was obvious.

“And can enforcers feel love?” I pressed.

“No,” Jeffrey repeated with the same inflection, “You’ve also been around since before Dopple went rogue, ruling you out as being a spy. I’m sorry for pushing you this far, that was wrong for me to do.”

“Do you even care about rogues anyway? I saw Dopple in my club and talking to your father just a few days ago, where was your paranoia then?” I continued angrily, just to drive the point home.

“A fair point, I won’t push the issue again,” Jeffrey promised defensively.

“Damn right you won’t, because I am a pony! Got it?” I finished, my anger fizzling out as I vented the last of it, “I’m sorry, to both of you. I’ve been so angry this entire trip that I’ve forgotten my manners.”

“We understand Vinyl, you said yourself that Ponyville makes you nervous. Do you feel better at least?” Trixie asked.

“I think I do, yeah,” I replied.

That’s good, I’m glad I could help. That’s what friends are for, right?” Trixie commented with a smile. I huffed in amusement at that as I looked between her and Jeffrey, realizing that I had made a couple friends today despite my poor attitude.

Vinyl and Trixie continued making conversation as we walked, though I only listened for my name and to monitor their tone. My mind was largely occupied with the comings and goings off all the other inhabitants of the town, though a small section was reserved to investigate Vinyl’s choice of words whenever it wasn’t trying to pick out tablecloth colors with Lyra.

‘And can enforcers feel love?’ she had asked. Enforcers. The use of that word to describe my smaller siblings was almost exclusive to ourselves, to the point that she must have heard it from someone within our ranks. She lived primarily in Canterlot, I would have the search begin there. I had to know where Vinyl had heard that term, I could only hope that her source was already a known rogue and one of the less violent ones.

What insanity was this?

To stay undetected by even my forces for centuries, then appear out of nowhere with the military might to take a key strategic bunker. That part made sense. But why in every conceivable hell would they then stay at that bunker when they knew I was coming?

The bugs stood in the open, their queen at the front as though to challenge me. A foolish show of defiance that didn’t make any tactical sense. I contemplated what to do as Abaddon walked the last few steps, finally deciding to humor the insect for a time.

“This looks like a trap,” Discord commented, appearing at my side silently. His usual attitude replaced with a grim expression. I understood his lack of enthusiasm, he didn’t like death.

“Clearly, but why make it so obvious?” I wondered before everything clicked. I was supposed to attack them on sight, which would kill the representatives and trigger the war before the defenses were finished. No, that was too simple as well.

What was this bug planning?

“Stop,” I ordered, brining Abaddon to a halt far short of his optimal positioning. Nothing could be chanced, the ground ahead could’ve been hollowed out and filled with the Alliance’s stockpile of Cure.

“A pitfall?” Tzu guessed, “A hard enough stomp would probably reveal any traps like that.”

“Enough for ground troops to be safe, make it happen,” I replied, feeling the deck tilt sharply until only Abaddon’s rearmost legs were on the ground. The colossal impact shook the air and knocked nearly all of the changelings off their hooves, the resulting earthquake flatting several sand dunes around the small valley. No traps made themselves known.

“Shall I continue?” Abaddon asked.

“How are your fields of fire?” I countered.

“Sufficient for a fight, but less than ideal. Dedicated shooters on my sides and back should make up the difference,” Abaddon answered, getting a nod of approval from Tzu.

“Take the Romeos, all of them. Keep the Gammas in reserve for now but make sure they’re set for rapid deployment… Actually, give me three squads to approach with,” I ordered.

“I’ll stay here and run interference if they try anything,” Discord offered, getting a thankful nod as well. I couldn’t expect him to take changeling lives, but disrupting their magic was more than helpful.

The squads I had requested met me on the ground, and I found it interesting to see Gamma One at the lead. Command squads didn’t enter combat often, finding it more efficient to stick to the logistical side. That said, Gamma One came with an infamous, red skinned enforcer that I was glad to have by my side.

“No killing until I make a move,” I instructed, keeping my eyes on Fang as I spoke.

“Evil,” Fang growled quietly.

“Don’t worry, I will be making a move. I just want to know why they’re making it easy for us,” I reassured the maniac.

“Figured that would be the plan,” Gamma One-One commented, “I’m curious myself.”

“Keep it tight, no unnecessary risks. We can’t be sure there aren’t rogues mixed into their ranks. Fang, you’ll work with me and prioritize the elimination of any rogue enforcers,” I ordered, getting nods and calls of understanding from the Gammas along with an elated snarl from the only insane one.

Fang fell into place behind my right shoulder as the three squads took up position for our approach. Gamma One watched my back while the other two spread out to either side. Eighteen enforcers, with another million and a leviathan in reserve, waited for my signal to attack, each and every one of them built and bred with a hatred for these insectile quadrupeds. They should’ve stayed in whatever gutter they crawled out of.

The queen didn’t show any fear as I calmly walked right up to her and fixed her with a glare that would’ve given anything else a heart attack.

“We meet again, monster,” the queen greeted.

“Parasite,” I replied with a nod.

“You killed my mother,” the queen stated simply.

“She tried to kill my daughter. She lived by the way. My kid, not your mom,” I countered, adding the clarification to salt the wound.

“You’ll still pay for what you did to my family,” the bug spat.

“I doubt that, because I have every intention of finishing what I started and driving you extinct,” I responded.

“Then why haven’t you?” the queen baited.

“Curiosity of all things, I want to know why you’re here waiting for us instead of scampering away like the cockroaches you are,” I replied, finding no harm in allowing the doomed insect to have that bit of information.

“A test, I wanted to see if all that sludge I’ve been forcing my changelings to eat will grant us immunity to your attacks,” the drone replied. I smirked as I saw their full plan, they thought we were still at the level I had spent almost all of my time at. They thought we were only capable of melee combat. Were that the case, it wouldn’t do any harm to tell me their plans. I was supposed to be trapped, my pride keeping me from leaving and their chemical warfare tactic making me unable to kill them without sacrificing large numbers of my troops.

“I understand now, you left this drone in your guise to get me down here. That’s more like the changelings I exterminated. Shame it won’t help you, we’ve evolved past that point,” I reasoned before pulling one of my spike pistols and shooting the ‘queen’ right between the eyes, forcing the drone to return to its normal size as it died.

Abaddon’s cannons roared their fury as my guards charged, spike rifles forming and firing into the enemy line as they moved. Abaddon’s shots appeared to be going high until they unfolded into winged enforcers that unleashed hell on any changelings that tried to escape through flight.

I had none of the battle as I walked through it, my only contribution being to slap away any bugs that got too close. Fang remained at my side, his eyes alert and watchful for any rogues. I could only assume that they were more fun to fight than the easily killed changelings.

Massive columns of flame erupted along the fringes of the changeling swarm as Abaddon switched to killing them directly and funneling them into the spike munitions of the enforcers. The sheer number of changelings would cause this mockery of a battle to take hours, or even prove moderately challenging if they got organized and pushed back, but to me it was boring. I had hoped for more when I saw them.

“Disappointing,” Fang growled as we neared the bunker.

“I agree, hopefully the inside will be full of them. They’re more difficult in a confined space,” I replied as I found the door to the interior of the bunker and tore it out of the wall. Just as I had hoped, the bunker was crawling with insects; all of which were now staring at us in surprise, “There are three here that aren’t bugs, I want them alive.”

That was all I needed to say for Fang to launch himself into the mass of changelings, heedless of any danger they may have posed. Given by how he was biting them in half as well as slashing gleefully, their foray into consuming the cure had yielded negligible results. I could’ve told them that if they weren’t life ruining vampires. My other hand found one of my other spike pistols as I moved to wander down the first hallway I saw, both pistols spitting death as I kicked the door down. Hallway by hallway, room by room, I cleared sections of the bunker with an impassiveness unimaginable by anyone who hadn’t seen death on the scale of the old wars.

I found Fang guarding a seemingly random room after roughly an hour, looking torn between protecting whatever was inside and charging off to butcher more bugs. I touched his shoulder when I reached the door, signaling that he was free to slaughter once more.

“Please...no more...it hurts,” a pained voice whimpered as I broke the lock and forced the door open.

“All of you are to come with me, you will be returned to your governments after I am sure none of you are changelings or otherwise under their control,” I instructed as I holstered my weapons, eliciting cries of gratitude from the survivors.

“I thank you creature, my name is-” a large minotaur began before I cut him off.

“Regnot He’tag’nah, the representative from Minos. It was not an accident that one of my best had a disguise from both your region and clan. I am Jekyll, as all of you should know,” I responded, adding some force to my voice to silence the minotaur before he could start with his usual bluster, “I assume the injured one is Felix Sharptalon?”

“That bug… it did things to him. Kahira too, she disappeared after a few hours though. Good on her if she escaped, but I’m fairly certain she’s dead,” Regnot explained, “The rest here are the remaining staff, Kahira is the only one missing.”

My count matched his tale, every non-enforcer staff member was here with the exception of the zebra delegate. That was problematic, I had hoped rescuing all of them would make them reconsider their war.

“I’ll have the facility and surrounding area searched until we find her,” I promised as I moved aside and gestured towards the doorway. The staff members nearly trampled each other in their desperate bid for escape, though Regnot remained behind in an effort to help Felix, “I’ll take him, I need to provide care anyway.”

“Our rumors about you are confusing and conflicting. Some say you are a ruthless killer, others claim you to be a doctor of the highest degree. Which is it?” Regnot asked as he allowed me to take his friend and carry the limp gryphon under my arm.

“Both, depending on how you treat the people I care about,” I replied as I examined the cause of Felix’s pain. Even if I ignored the way his legs were folded, the signals along his spine gave me a path to follow back to the source. His loins had been permanently damaged due to a forcible removal of all genetic material, leaving him sterile in the most agonizing way possible. He’d been used to breed an army. Puncture marks in his neck and the general degradation of his body would suggest that he’d also been drugged into producing more material for the changeling queen to harvest, far more than his body was able to safely produce.

“Will he make it?” Regnot asked when my expression darkened.

“It’s rare to see a male rape victim, much more so when the assailant is a female. This may be beyond me, the damage to his internal organs is extensive and I haven’t studied how his body works when healthy. At best, he’ll be in my care for days or weeks as I tune his biochemistry and return it to its normal levels,” I responded clinically.

“Thank you again, I will never forget this,” Regnot swore as he moved to walk beside me. I recalled that Felix was his only friend, mentally rereading every report I’d gotten about the two. They were closer to brothers by this point, and Regnot was visibly distraught by the sight of Felix.

We found Fang leading the other survivors towards Abaddon while the Gamma squads formed a line and shielded them from any changeling retaliation. I noted the curious attitude he was showing the gryphons and minotaurs, one of concern and care instead of his usual mania. I wondered for a moment if the favored enforcer he used to be was returning, though those hopes vanished when he turned the survivors over to another enforcer and ran screaming into the remnants of the swarm. I watched his progress via the geyser of green blood and severed pieces for a moment as I walked, somewhat saddened by his short lived lucidity.

“That’s the one, isn’t it? The one that broke the caribou?” Regnot asked fearfully.

“They forgot, and paid for their negligence in blood,” I replied.

“What did they forget?” Regnot asked, not understanding.

“They forgot what happens when you challenge me,” I elaborated.

“Minos has a longer memory, even if we don’t realize it at times, I will speak to our king about this. If the rescue of our people isn’t enough, I can only hope that the threat of this will make him see reason,” Regnot responded seriously as he gestured to the living wall of enforcers that were still killing changelings in droves.

“If he could read world politics, he’d have withdrawn already. My army is vast and elite, siding with me in all things. I like Equestria the way it is right now, therefore my army will seek to keep it that way. Just because I haven’t officially sided with them doesn’t mean I won’t, the possibility has always been there,” I warned, seeking to give Regnot more talking points for later.

The large minotaur fell silent and nodded as he considered my words, caught between wanting what was best for his people, the will of his government, and his gratitude towards me for rescuing him and Felix. After a moment, he walked away to join the other survivors as Abaddon closed in and crouched above them. The large scales of my leviathan’s underbelly parted as the staging area opened to allow the assembled species to walk aboard with their enforcer escort. I spotted Tzu at the other end of the ramp, waiting to brief them on our rules and get them settled into their new rooms.

The enforcers neither needed me here nor wanted me to put myself in danger to help them, as evidenced by the way Gamma One-One kept looking at me impatiently between putting spikes through the panicked changelings.

I nodded my understanding when he looked again and started towards the ramp, handing the desecrated gryphon over to a pair of enforcers once I was aboard. They would be the ones to oversee his recovery, though I was his official doctor now. I’d check on Felix once he returned from surgery and woke up, but my interactions would be minimal.

With little else to do until the fight was over, I walked back up to the deck and sat above Abaddon’s head to watch the extermination. I noted how Abaddon’s blasts were pressing closer in, funneling the changelings into the wall of enforcers and incinerating those on the fringes. It was a tactic clearly based on how he had herded the spiders, though much more refined now that the enforcers were better trained and less reliant on their supposed invulnerability. They worked well together.

“You seem bored,” Discord commented as he made himself known.

“Not so much bored as disappointed, I was really hoping for more out of this. It wasn’t even a proper trap, just a test to see if they could create a hazard for us. I’m also concerned that they can throw away this many drones on a test, the changeling army must be larger than anything we’ve ever seen,” I corrected.

“That is pretty concerning,” Discord agreed, though I remained staring past the battle and off into the distance.

“I need a wall,” I commented, drawing my sword and cutting open a portal as Abaddon reshaped his flesh to accommodate my wishes. Reaching through, I retrieved a bottle of ancient liquor so old that not even I knew what it was anymore and two glasses. Discord looked over curiously as I poured the priceless alcohol into the two cups and set the bottle down.

“I don’t drink except at parties,” Discord stated, though he reached for the glass anyway in an effort to be polite.

“It’s not for you,” I replied, causing the draconequus to pull his talon away sharply.

“Catrix said something about this ritual of yours. It’s for the dead, right?” Discord confirmed.

“Yep,” I responded simply as I dumped the contents of the glass into my mouth and poured another.

“Any reason why? Surely they didn’t all drink,” Discord continued, though his tone was one of curiosity rather than disrespect.

“It’s a symbol that they aren’t forgotten, it was a somewhat common thing on my world,” I answered.

“I like it, mind if I started doing the same thing?” Discord asked genuinely.

“For your people? I’d be honored,” I allowed with a sad smile as I downed my second glass. Discord summoned another pair of glasses and a bottle, setting his drink for the fallen next to mine as he drowned his sorrows.

The battle was long over and the sun had gone down before I said the usual rites and dumped the glass over the side to soak into the sand, Discord clumsily mimicking my actions as he did his best to learn the ritual while drunk. I’d held back this time and had skipped trying to forget before listing off every one of my failures as a leader, causing Discord’s eyes to grow wider with every name and description I gave. He tried his best to repeat that part, but didn’t have my memory. His frustration had built until I placed a calming hand on his shoulder and nodded, they knew he still cared.

Discord cried as he set his people’s glass down. There was no shame in it, this was a memorial, a time for mourning, and he had felt the need to vent. I simply gripped his shoulder a little tighter as he let it out, soon feeling his lion paw rest on my fingers in gratitude.

When Discord finally recovered, he looked at me and nodded his thanks before snapping his talon and vanishing. There was no judgement from me, I wanted to be alone as well. Though there was one individual that I would be happy to have sit next to me instead, and she had been watching in silence for well over an hour.

“Thanks for that Luna, he needed the silence,” I called without looking back.

“I saw. Maybe I should adopt your tradition as well, it might do well to bring everyone together,” Luna commented quietly.

“Everyone has lost someone, taking a moment to remember them can never be a bad thing,” I allowed solemnly.

“You don’t include your family, your real family,” Luna noted.

“Dunno if their dead,” I replied.

“It’s been a thousand years,” Luna pointed out.

“I’m in a different dimension, time could be moving differently,” I countered.

“I suppose that’s fair, but you still lost them. Would you want to talk about that? Cat has a theory that you were an uncle there, she thinks that’s why you prefer that title here,” Luna proposed.

“It is,” I answered simply, catching the alicorn off guard with my candor.

“Oh, well that was much easier than I was expecting,” Luna commented before regaining her composure, “From a brother or sister?”

“Brother, couple years older. He found himself a girl way too good for him about ten years before I got sent here. She wasn’t as good lookin’ as you, but she had the patience to deal with both of our antics and the cooking skill to tame a hydra. Her parents weren’t thrilled with Mark, but nobody really gave a shit. They were perfect for each other. Mark had joined the army before they got married and had a new baby to come back to by the time he got back from the war,” I revealed, more for myself than Luna at this point. It had been a long time since I thought about Mark or Kristen.

“Sounds perfect,” Luna appraised.

“HA! No fucking way. I had to change jobs and move closer to them to help out. Kristen, or Kris as we called her, had some health problems and couldn’t do a lot of normal things. She needed someone around who could mow the grass and pick up her son. She had a minor case of Spinal Muscular Atrophy and her muscles barely functioned as a result. She could get around just fine, but that was about it,” I chuckled, remembering all the things I found myself doing for the couple when Mark was away.

“What about her family? Or the rest of yours? Where were they?” Luna asked in confusion.

“Kris’s family sucked, Mark and I didn’t have one. It was always just the two of us until Kris joined the party. Didn’t you ever wonder why I hate religions so much? Mark and I grew up in a religious orphanage, we had to deal with stuck up nuns and shit every day. Just thinking about it makes me remember all the times I’ve been beaten with a yardstick. Getting out of there was a blessing,” I replied.

“What about that game you played with Freydis? You said your father taught you how to play,” Luna pointed out.

“I lied to her to make her feel more like we were a real family. She needed it and it was close enough to the truth. Mark taught me that game and our father taught him, he was old enough to know them before they died,” I explained, wincing as I realized I had never told Freydis the truth about that.

“Do you need to stop? I feel like I’m opening old wounds at this point,” Luna asked gently.

“I can’t mourn people I never knew,” I responded simply.

“Either way, I think that’s enough. Maybe someday we’ll figure out how to open doors to other worlds so you can visit them. Maybe we’ll happen across a world where your parents survived and you never had to deal with any ‘nuns’,” Luna suggested as she guided me to my feet and led my inside the massive creature we called our home. I couldn’t help realizing the scale of where I was now compared to my origins, just the thought of it brought a smile to my face. Anyone who had told me I’d marry a princess and live inside a giant monster would’ve been met with accusations that they had either read too many comic books or done a lot of drugs.

“You would’ve liked Mark and Kris, they were the type to accept everyone,” I commented idly as we walked.

“I can, just dream of them tonight and I’ll visit to introduce myself to my in-laws,” Luna replied with an easy smile.

“It’s after midnight, isn’t it? Sorry for keeping you up with my rambling,” I apologized.

“I’m not complaining, getting to learn more about you and your life is always a treat,” Luna rebutted with a shake of her head to dismiss the apology.

“The feeling is mutual,” I replied as we reached our door and Luna pushed it open.

“I’m not in the mood for sex anyway, so let’s just go to bed,” Luna stated as she walked over and waited for me to get settled in before taking her place. Luna had gradually been switching her preference of which side she preferred to sleep on, going from the side of the bed touching the wall to the one closer to the door. This meant I had to get into bed first unless she wanted me to crawl over her. Once I had slipped out of my armor, we set about getting settled in and comfortable. Luna shuffled around a bit before finally setting her head on my neck and falling asleep in my arms almost instantly.

I remained awake for a few more minutes, thinking about Earth and everything I had left behind, before finally relaxing and willing myself to sleep.

I found myself sitting in an empty field for as far as I could see, with my only company being the gently undulating ground below me. I knew I was asleep, my dreams had always been some variation of this place whenever I forced myself into slumber. There was one change I found interesting, I wasn’t my normal self.

I held up my hands to inspect them, my eyes tracing the old features that I hadn’t expected to see again. I checked to see if everything else had changed too and discovered that my mind had clothed me in the style I wore the day I was taken. From my ratty sneakers to that same leather jacket that started all of this, my body was human again.

“Nope,” I declared as my body pulsed and returned to some semblance of my new normal. I retained my old bodystyle and clothing, but regained my coloration and tendrils. I wondered about this sudden failure to control my appearance for a brief moment before a pair of arms snaked over my shoulders to hug me from behind.

“Hey you,” Luna greeted as she nuzzled my neck. I reached up to hold her neck as I waited for her to finish so I could turn in her grip and see why she had arms. When I did, I discovered her to be the same as when she had been affected by the Poison Joke and I had helped fix her appearance. She’d misplaced the extra weight in her backside though.

“Why the change?” I asked curiously as I returned her hug and let her push me onto my back.

“My magic works the same here if I want it to, so I can practice spells on myself without doing any harm. I finally got this one right,” Luna explained happily.

“Do you have a way to change back?” I asked as I noted her lack of a horn. Luna giggled and brought her furred hand around to reveal the swirling lines on her jet black fingernails. They glowed with her usual blue aura a moment later, answering my question, “Impressive, have you told Twilight about your findings? She’ll probably want to write a book about it.”

“Self transmutation is incredibly dangerous, it isn’t something to be widely known,” Luna countered, “I tore myself apart sixty times, and that’s only counting tonight. No, this is just for you and I to share.”

“It would be incredibly hypocritical of me to lecture you about keeping secrets,” I allowed.

With little warning, Luna pushed herself up and sprang to her feet as she jumped back to give me a full view of her. I pushed myself up onto my elbows as she showed off her work, flexing each finger one by one and presenting her range of motion, “So, what do you think?”

I eyed her critically as I climbed to my feet and walked around her, periodically moving her limbs to check every inch of her altered body. Luna flinched when I touched her armpits or the bottoms of her feet, showing that she had the same ticklish spots as a human.

“Your hair is a bit short compared to how you normally keep your mane and you skipped the tail,” I noted.

“I had to guess at the mane length, I chose not to add the tail because you don’t have one,” Luna replied easily, though this brought me to a new concern.

“Why are you trying to be so much like me? Don’t you like being a pony?” I asked seriously.

“Do you enjoy doing things to make me happy?” Luna countered.

“I do,” I allowed, unsure of where she was going with this.

“So do I. While I know you don’t seem to care how I look, I still think having some semblance of one of your kind around will be comforting,” Luna concluded. I couldn’t fault her for that; I definitely found her more appealing like this, but not nearly enough to justify the work involved or the danger.

“If I knew you weren’t at risk of hurting yourself, I’d be more comfortable with the idea,” I commented.

“I’ll remember everything about this dream when I wake up, I’ll just have Abby copy the memory and make sure the bioform in my head keeps it fresh for me. I’ll keep doing this until I get it perfected, then I might try it in the real world,” Luna responded, showing some forethought towards the matter.

“That will work for me, so long as I’m there to put you back together if anything goes wrong,” I conceded reluctantly.

“Excellent. Shall we conjure your family so I can finally meet them?” Luna proposed.

“You might want to put some clothes on first,” I advised, poking Luna’s exposed breast for effect.

“Is that the norm for your people? I guess a jacket like yours and some leg coverings would be acceptable,” Luna replied as the clothing appeared on her body, though that was all that appeared. Her open jacket would leave nothing to the imagination as soon as she moved. I chuckled as I reached up and zipped the jacket halfway up to preserve her modesty.

“Try to keep your breasts covered, it’s considered lewd otherwise,” I explained at her look.

“Must be a cultural thing,” Luna replied as she adjusted her jacket to be more comfortable.

I noticed she seemed to be trying to get the material off of her stomach and stopped her hands with a gentle touch of my own as I smiled, “Short jackets are a thing Luna, it doesn’t have to reach that far.”

“Thank the stars, it feels too weird to have something touching my belly all the time,” Luna sighed as the jacket shortened to stop just below the point where leaning back would expose her, “And the leg coverings? Are they acceptable?”

“The common term is ‘pants.’ They’re fine as long as you’re comfortable in skinny jeans,” I replied.

“Just how many clothing options do your people have?” Luna cried in exasperation.

“Almost as many as there are people, maybe more. If you want to keep these, lower the waistline a bit or Mark will make fun of you for looking like Urkel,” I responded easily, watching closely as Luna fixed her pants to more closely match a more feminine style. I stopped her with a touch and looked down at her choice of footwear, finding a well fitting clone of my sneakers.

“Anything else I should change or are we good to get started?” Luna asked, her tone hinting that she was actually enjoying this and would prefer the former.

“Well, it would be weird for us to wear matching shoes. Maybe some boots would fit you better,” I suggested, “Maybe a little higher, yeah. Now, most boots are either black or bro-black it is. Do they fit alright?”

“My range of motion is a little restricted, but I get the feeling that’s intentional. To prevent ankle injuries perhaps?” Luna guessed.

“Yep. That’ll about do it unless you want to add in some accessories,” I noted. Luna’s equine ears suddenly gained the silver piercings I had made her and a trio of loose silver bracelets appeared on each of her wrists. I nodded my approval as Luna’s creative mind filled in the rest based on what I had guided her through.

Luna’s head tossed and shook before she flipped her hair back, revealing that it had gone from just past shoulder length to reaching all the way down her back. With another shake, the silver beads I had once attached to her mane reappeared. She looked like she had just come from a rave but didn’t seem to show anything other than comfort in her outfit.

“Alright, how do I look?” Luna asked, flashing a grin.

“About fifty leagues above me,” I replied before I noticed something else that was off, “Wait, where are your wings?”

“I couldn’t get them to transition properly, I’ll add them again when I figure out how,” Luna confessed before bringing a hand to her face in embarrassment and adjusting her dream self to have wings again. She extended them angelically to ruffle them into being comfortable before folding them against her back. I smiled at her antics as I tried to fix the issues with my dream body, finding it incredibly difficult for some reason I couldn’t identify, “Here, let me help.”

Luna took my hand and lifted it above my head as she prompted me to turn in a circle. Though I didn’t notice any change, I was suddenly a couple inches taller when I returned to facing Luna. I took a look down at myself to find that I was back to my usual appearance, though still wearing my old clothes.

“That should be everything, how do we bring them here?” I asked.

“Let me handle the work, you just bring up every memory you have of Mark,” Luna instructed as I vaguely human shaped shadow appeared next to us. A blue line connected the fingers of Luna’s right hand to to my head while her left connected with the shadow.

Mark took shape and immediately collapsed onto his hands and knees, vowing to never drink again.

“You aren’t drunk Mark,” I responded as another shadow formed and I started bringing up my memories of Kristen.

“You sure? ‘Cause everything feels weird and I don’t know where the fuck I am. Who are you guys anyway?” Mark groaned, seeming content with flopping onto his side for now.

“It’ll be easier next time, they’ll already be formed and organized,” Luna noted.

“It sounds like you’ve done this before,” I commented.

“There is a reason I’ve never let you into my dreams,” Luna responded quietly, prompting me to drop the subject for now.

Kristen finished forming and fell next to Mark, though she failed to catch herself and twisted her arm on impact. Without thinking, I kneeled next to the pair and rolled Kristen over to fix her arm.

“How much did we drink last night? I’ve never been hungover enough to see demons before,” Kristen rambled while I wordlessly reseated her shoulder and repaired her rotator cuff.

“There you go, good as new,” I stated as I stepped back to let them recover.

“Your first instinct is to heal them?” Luna commented, “Interesting, given how you know they aren’t real.”

“Old habits, I’ve bandaged Kris up enough times for it to become second nature,” I replied.

“We get it Jack, you’re helpful. Damn bastard,” Kristen groaned as she held her head. Mark, on the other hand, was recovering quickly and staggering to his feet, though his body froze when he saw Luna and I.

“I’m either really drunk or this headache is some side effect of the probing,” Mark reasoned.

“We’re not-well, Luna’s an alien… but I’m not,” I protested, my voice only confusing Mark even more.

“Why do you sound like my brother?” he asked suspiciously.

“Because I am, I just got punted into another universe and turned into this along the way,” I answered simply.

“Eh, face could use some work,” Mark critiqued. My face was exactly the same.

“Dick,” I swore.

“Asshole,” Mark countered before half walking, half falling forward to hug me. Luna tilted her head at the odd greeting, but remained silent for now. I noticed her quietly tugging at her sleeves though, as though her clothes were uncomfortable.

Kristen managed to get onto one knee by the time Mark was confident enough to stand unassisted, but it would be some time before she’d recover enough to stand without anyone helping her get her other foot under her.

“Luna, could you help Kris to her feet and keep her steady?” I requested as I hooked Mark’s arm over my shoulders for security. Kristen rose into the air in time with Luna’s hand before slowly being drawn in and set back on the floor. Luna adopted a similar strategy and used her shoulders to keep Kristen stable.

“Who are you?” Kristen asked in confusion as she got a good look at Luna’s equine face.

“Apparently she’s an alien, and knows Jack,” Mark responded, his strength seeming to return by the second.

“Any friend of Jack’s…” Kristen trailed off before doubling over and trying to vomit.

“Can’t you do something, Lu? Make her stronger or whatever?” I asked.

“My magic works the same way in here as it does in the real world, I’m afraid I don’t know enough about her biology for medical spells to help,” Luna replied with a shake of her head, “It will pass soon though.”

“Alright, can you summon us a table and chairs at least?” I pressed, finding one right in front of me before I had finished speaking.

“This is your dream Jay, you don’t need me for that,” Luna chided as I set Mark down and moved to retrieve Kristen. The perpetually frail woman didn’t try to fight as I picked her up and carried her to the chair next to her husband, as she was used to the treatment at this point.

“I-I think I’m okay now, what’s going on? Where are we?” Kristen asked as some color returned to her face.

“This may be difficult to understand, but you aren’t anywhere. This place is where Jay, Jack to you, goes when he falls asleep. You don’t exist in our universe outside of this dream and Jay’s memories,” Luna explained as she sat down across from the couple. I joined her a moment later, my actions slowed by my focus on learning how this spell worked.

“So we die when he wakes up then?” Mark guessed.

“I can suspend you, essentially saving your consciousness until you’re called back. My ghosts describe it as feeling similar to suddenly falling asleep and waking up,” Luna reassured before turning to me, “Are you certain this clothing is absolutely necessary? It feels like it’s wearing the fur off of my arms.”

“Then I’ll rip off the sleeves,” I replied with a shrug as I tore the leather away and left Luna wearing something similar to a vest.

“Necessary? There’s not really a required style for meeting with humans,” Mark pointed out, confused.

“It’s complicated,” I deflected.

“No it isn’t, I usually don’t wear clothes at all,” Luna corrected, walking right into the proverbial firestorm I was trying to avoid.

“A nudist? I guess that’s cool,” Kristen allowed, though her eyes had a downcast quality to them now. Kristen knew she was barely anything more than a skeleton and tended to get incredibly self conscious at the thought of other women being naked.

“How do you two know each other anyway?” Mark asked quickly in an effort to push the conversation somewhere that wouldn’t upset his wife.

“We’re married,” Luna answered almost instantly.

“Luna, slow down,” I advised, raising my hand to gesture towards where Kristen was starting to cry, “Kris doesn’t do well when her condition is made to look like a handicap.”

“But it isn’t! I can’t and won’t see any other humans, therefore she’s the most beautiful human I’ve ever seen,” Luna protested.

“Thanks for the effort, but…” Kristen trialed off.

“No, I won’t let my new sister suffer. Where magic has failed, medicine will succeed. Jay, your powers are just as effective in here,” Luna declared.

“Woah now, hold on. What powers?” Mark demanded, holding his hands up in an attempt to slow down the madness going on around him.

“Do you remember Prototype? The Playstation game? I was dropped onto this world as something like Mercer, but without all the game nerfing. In the thousand years I’ve been here, I’ve gotten very good with my abilities. I’m actually a licensed doctor and the world’s leading surgeon, as well as the top expert on a number of different subjects. If Luna’s right and my abilities are unaffected, I’m good enough to fix your spine,” I explained.

“That’s absolutely terrifying Jack, I was so much happier thinking you’d just gotten covered in charcoal or something,” Mark complained sarcastically, falling back on his old defense mechanism.

“Kris, it’s up to you,” I offered, setting my open hand on the table.

“To be clear, you’re dream ghosts. I don’t believe Jay would hurt you anyway, but it wouldn’t benefit him at all here. There’s no risk,” Luna added.

“But you’re real? You’re at risk? How can you live like that?” Kristen asked softly as her hand hovered over the table several inches from my offered one.

“Because I understand, I know what it’s like to be alone. Jay was alone for so long, just like I was. We keep each other sane. That’s why I can sleep next to him and not worry about accidentally getting eaten,” Luna replied easily.

“There is always a risk with surgery, more so when it’s spinal. But I operate at the cellular level, no other doctor can do what I do or be as precise as I am,” I corrected.

“I need some time to think about it, that’s a big change,” Kristen requested as she retracted her hand. Luna seemed offended until I set my other one on her shoulder.

“I expected as much, just give me your answer when you’re ready,” I allowed.

“Well, I’d say the mood is dead and buried,” Mark joked.

“Meh, I’ve seen worse. At least nobody actually died,” I replied with a shrug.

“Why you gotta ruin my jokes man?” Mark complained before looking at the hand I still had lying on the table, “Do something.”

“Define ‘something’,” I countered.

“Something cool, make a claw or whatever,” Mark instructed.

“Shapeshifting isn’t a party trick, it’s an almost constant part of my life,” I griped as I did as requested, breaking my hand apart to reshape it into the swordlike claws I was familiar with.

“So that was a game thing after all, you don’t have to change the other hand too,” Mark commented, causing Luna to look at where my other hand had been placed and give Mark a flat look.

“I see the quiet experimentation runs in the family,” Luna noted.

“I feel like I should be panicking right now,” Kristen commented as Luna and Mark started to argue over the ethics of putting another in that kind of danger.

“Why?” I asked, only half listening to the other discussion.

“I know it doesn’t make any sense, but these things are longer than my arms,” Kristen continued as she pinched the sides of one claw and tried to lift it. I helped her pick up my hand and roll it over to see the back, though she only sighed when she saw the sharp edge along the spine as well.

“I’m still your brother,” I declared, we’d never added the ‘in-law’ part.

“Are you though? You’re not the same person as the friendly accountant that stuck around to help us out, not in body or mind. I believe that you were once, but the Jack I knew didn’t have the eyes of a killer,” Kristen pressed. I knew she wasn’t trying to offend me, but I still flinched at the accusation.

“If you believe that, then stop calling me by that dead name. My name is Jekyll, king of Tartarus, legate of the first legion, and terror of those who would earn my ire,” I snapped, my anger flaring to the point that Mark and Luna stopped arguing and looked over in concern. Kristen Looked down to the claw in her hand and slowly set it back down.

“I think that was a bit much, Jay,” Luna chided.

“Just a little,” Mark agreed.

“I don’t think so, I think Kris is dead on when she says I’m not the same person I was. I think that’s obvious. I think… I think I was hoping you wouldn’t notice,” I confessed, dragging my claw across the table and letting it hang by my side, “It came with a perfect memory, I relive every loss when I think about them. The two of you were the last people I parted on good terms with. Even the guy that ran my bar thought I was an asshole.”

“Says the king,” Mark scoffed.

“Fuck you, I had to kill Satan for that,” I shot back.

“Next time, you all can deal with your own weird sensibilities,” Luna spat as she started fussing with the remains of her jacket.

“Why not just make it looser?” I suggested.

“Because I can’t change things now that the dream is fully formed, I’d swap it out for a robe or something if I could,” Luna replied angrily before dropping her hands and looking between Mark and Kristen, “Would it offend the two of you that much if I took this accursed thing off?”

“Kris?” Mark deferred.

“I’m not petty enough to keep you from being comfortable, but I will feel ugly,” Kristen answered honestly.

“Thank the stars,” Luna sighed as she tore the improvised vest from her shoulders and took a breath as if she’d been forced to hold one, “How do you survive like that? It’s so constricting.”

“You have a version of that same coat in the real world,” I pointed out.

“Which I will tolerate for limited periods of time. And it’s tailored better, it doesn’t restrict my movements,” Luna huffed.

“So… how did the two of you meet?” Mark asked awkwardly as he tried to keep the conversation alive and positive.

“I went crazy and turned into a world ending threat to all life, then Jay showed up and pinned me down while some others restored my sanity. After that we got drunk and woke up married,” Luna summarized.

“You pulled a Hangover? I thought kings were supposed to be classy,” Mark mocked. At Kristen’s continued silence and frequent looks at her unnaturally thin arm, I stripped my jacket off as well before removing my shirt and handing it to Luna.

“Well, Tartarus is this world’s version of Hell. I’m the king of demons, not a lot of class to be had there,” I replied as Luna slid the loose shirt over her head and nodded after a moment’s consideration.

“I was a princess as well, so he’s not the only one at fault,” Luna added, “And this shirt feels so much better, I want one to sleep in.”

“Talk to Rarity, it’s important to support local businesses,” I responded.

“I’ll be doing that, might have to get two versions though,” Luna hummed.

“Why two? Are you a shapeshifter too?” Kristen asked curiously.

“No, I’m an alicorn. I have magic instead. I used a spell to make myself look more like you, but I’m growing fond of having hands. I might do this in the waking world as well,” Luna elaborated.

“The fuck’s an alicorn?” Mark wondered.

“These wings aren’t just for show, I can fly and use magic,” Luna answered.

“Luna’s normal appearance resembles that of a horse,” I added.

“Like the farm animal?” Kristen confirmed.

“I’m not… I’ll just show you, the spell is easy to break,” Luna sighed as she stood up from the table. My shirt was returned before a balled up pair of skinny jeans were tossed into the void and Luna’s hands lit with the brightness of a dozen suns. When the Light dimmed, the pony I knew returned to the table and used her telekinesis to tug my shirt back onto her body, “There, now I’m comfortable and you don’t have to deal with your aversion to nudity.”

“That was... unexpected,” Mark managed.

Kristen looked like she wanted to say something intelligent, but when her mouth opened all that would come out was a squee of joy before she rushed around the table to hug Luna.

“Can I touch your… What’s it called? A mane?” Kristen requested.

“If you like, though I’m not accustomed to being asked for permission. Most ponies can judge when it’s appropriate to handle another’s mane,” Luna allowed, smiling as Kristen glided her fingers through the naturally soft hair. Luna groaned happily when Kristen scratched her ears and leaned into the contact.

“Whelp, now she’ll love you forever. Why’d you have to go for the ears?” I teased.

“So, it’s Jekyll now then?” Mark asked, turning serious now that the girls were busy distracting each other.

“That’s right,” I responded, “What of it?”

“Doctor Jekyll, do I really need to point out how bad of a joke that is?” Mark pressed.

“Totally unrelated. The name was given to me by the first friend I made in this world, though it was a subtle hint that he wanted me to kill him. The name means ‘killer’ where he came from. Medicine just sort of happened because I was dealing with injured soldiers and sick locals, plus I needed to prove to myself that I could be more than a warlord,” I explained.

“That doesn’t sound remotely like the brother I knew, what happened to ‘fighting is for idiots’?” Mark demanded.

“I figured out why you did. I found something worth fighting for,” I replied easily, getting a smile out of Mark as he glanced at Luna, “Not Lu, we only met a few months ago. My daughter.”

“So I’m an uncle too then? We might have to get the two of them together at some point for a playdate,” Mark laughed. It wasn’t a properly jovial laugh, more like one from someone who has completely given up on understanding the world.

“Sorry, sorry, but you… look at you, and her, I can’t make sense of it,” Mark rambled.

“Mark,” I warned, trying to get his attention before he could go any further down this rabbit hole. I repeated his name three more times before bringing my fist down on the wooden table hard enough to crack it and get everyone’s attention.

“Jesus,” Mark swore as he leaned back, “Since when did you start using violence?”

“You really want to know?” I challenged, “Alright fuckers, gather ‘round. It’s story time.”

Mark and Kristen didn’t get another option as I returned them to their seats and held them there for a few seconds. Mark panicked when the tendrils I’d extended from my feet locked him into his chair, but I’d eaten things much stronger than him. There was no escape. Kristen calmed him with a whispered word of encouragement and an arm over his shoulders, but otherwise accepted that I wasn’t letting them go until I was satisfied. I released my hold once Mark stopped struggling and resigned himself to his fate.

“Jay, you’re getting close to villain territory again,” Luna warned.

“Let me handle it Lu,” I responded curtly before returning my attention to Mark and Kristen. I told them everything I’d told Luna, about how I had ended up here because of the leather jacket I’d been wearing, about how the salesman had tricked me into this fate. I told them everything about my time living in the forest and my few interactions with Friedhelm before he died.

Mark seemed to brighten when I told him about how I had essentially adopted Sigrid and Freydis, though he soured again when I told them about how Sigrid had been murdered by changelings. They seemed caught between horror and pride when I described the battle I’d had in the hive and my rescue of Freydis. Luna apologized for Celestia’s behavior and admitted to their relation after I described her apathy towards Freydis’s plight, but then fell silent again as I continued with my tale.

I explained how I had gotten to the Crystal Kingdom and how I had been taken in with open arms, the way their king had selflessly used an ancient artefact to revive Freydis. I described the horror and desperation that spread across the land during the Second Awakening. I told them about how Sombra had personally asked me to lead a team against the demon hordes, and our trials in Tartarus before I faced off against Belial and won. I explained how Sombra had neglected to tell me that I’d be a conqueror and now surprised I was to find those same demons bowing after I emerged from Belial’s palace.

I told them about the fall, how Celestia had attacked without provocation and sealed the kingdom in time. I told them about my rage and how I’d crippled her in retaliation, stripping the muscles out of her wings while she was awake.

I explained my war against the remaining changelings and the eventual creation of my enforcers and leviathans. I described how they were made and how they were pieces of myself that had been cut off and gown into separate entities. I told them about my experiments into genetic manipulation, how they had resulted in the massive structure of DNA that we called control genes.

Then I told them about how I had met Luna, how I had paralyzed her so the magical artefacts known as the Elements of Harmony could restore her mind. I told them about how I had met with her later and how we had become friends. I described what I could remember about the party I had thrown and the fallout we had dealt with the next day.

I explained how I had dealt with my loneliness by adopting whole families, with the most recent being Lucky and Silver. I confessed that I hadn’t been there to save Silver from the disease that had consumed his body and had founded a new class of enforcers in retaliation. I explained the philosophy of the Wardens and how I had executed every last one following their kidnapping of Lily. I reassured them that she had recovered well after I removed her memories and had moved on with her life.

Mark looked like he didn’t know how to feel about Dopple or his rebellion, his internal conflict only getting stronger when I told them about how he had unleashed the spiders and apologized before showing up to talk at the club a few days after we finished the reconstruction.

I told them about the coming war, the one Celestia had started centuries ago. I informed them about the mysterious figure known as Fate that was manipulating everything from behind the scenes and driving everything forward, along with my fears regarding this entity. I finished this section with the tale of how Celestia had lost her leg and broken down, her mental state so shattered that even Luna needed some time in a place where she couldn’t hear the constant sobbing. I revealed how Dawn’s theory had inadvertently outed our marriage and tipped me off to the real reason Celestia had been so hateful, as well as her psychological need to face punishment for her crimes.

I followed that section by segueing into my relationship with Luna. I began with our vacation to Lucky’s resort and how I had overseen her training at the beginning of each day before we settled in to relax and have fun. This led into Luna’s fear of intimacy and how Catrix had helped her get past it, which then turned into a need for me to reciprocate her feelings in both type and intensity. Luna opened her mouth to protest against that one, but stopped short and settled for glaring at me indignantly. I explained that my emotions had dulled over the course of my life here and that Luna had been slowly reawakening them.

I finished my tale with the sudden return of the changelings and how they had tried to subjugate the Allied Nations. I told them about the state we had found Felix in and how he had been harvested to create more changelings, which made both Mark and Kristen shudder.

“And that’s where we are now, aboard Abaddon as he carries us back to Ponyville,” I concluded.

“Could you both give us a moment? This is a lot to process,” Kristen requested.

“Absolutely, I lived plenty of it and I still need to take time to make sure it all really happened,” Luna allowed as she picked me up and carried me away in her telekinesis.

“Do you think they’ll take it well?” I asked once we were far enough away for both groups to talk privately.

“You know them better than I do, but I think they will. I’m still here after all,” Luna replied, “Though you could have left out the bit about your prison, that made my stomach turn.”

I fell silent as I waited for the reaction, though we didn’t have to wait long before Mark called us over and motioned for me to sit.

“We’ve talked it over, but can’t agree on what to make of your story,” Mark began.

“I’m amazed you survived all of that without going insane, I’m proud of you,” Kristen stated plainly.

“I’m disgusted by what you’ve done, no justification can warrant torture like that. You’ve gotten everything you have by taking it from everyone else, you’re a thug. As far as I can tell, my brother is dead and you’re just the thing with his memories,” Mark replied, prompting me to remove myself from the seat and turn away as I thought about his reaction. I briefly considered killing both of the ghosts and pretending this never happened, and might have done so if Luna wasn’t here too, but as it stood I was forced to deal with this.

“Save them or whatever if you want, but that’s about as much as I can take for tonight,” I declared.

“I thought so, just run off like every other thief and murderer,” Mark spat before both he and Kristen dissipated into mist.

“I should’ve expected this, Mark’s morality was always black and white. A better option was never good enough for him, even if there weren’t any good ones,” I commented as Luna walked over, “Can you tell how long we’ve been asleep? It feels like we’ve been here for days.”

“It’s only been three hours, but I won’t judge you if you need to wake up,” Luna allowed.

“No, this is as good a place to think as any. Just wake me up when you’re ready to start the day,” I replied as I sat down and stared into the opaque fog that made up the horizon.

“Alright, but I’ll be checking on you periodically,” Luna conceded before ceasing to exist. I was left alone with a weird ground, a broken table, and my thoughts. If Luna checked on me during the eternity I sat there for, I never noticed her. I was too busy searching my memories of Mark for any reason for him to reject me that adamantly.

I’d made mistakes before, but he’d always found a way to rationalize forgiving me. The actions he judged me for now though, I didn’t even think of them as mistakes. How could one life be worth more than an army? How was I supposed to have stopped Belial without killing him?

No, this was a flaw in the ghost, it had to be. Mark wouldn’t ignore the supporting details like that, not even for his rigid sense of right and wrong. Luna knew her spells and was unparalleled in the dream world, but she must’ve made a mistake this time.

“Jay, Jay please wake up!” Luna whisper shouted as I awoke to the sensation of being shaken. My mind instantly darted to the changelings and made contact with Abaddon to ensure we weren’t under attack. Once I was certain that the issue was internal, I slid my hand down Luna’s back to let her know I was awake. I noticed I had formed my claws in my sleep as my hand moved, prompting me to return it to normal and check Luna for cuts or stabs. Fortunately, there weren’t any wounds to find. Luna sounded shaken when she spoke again, but there was no pain in her voice, “You shifted in your sleep.”

“I’m tracking everything down now,” I replied as loose tendrils returned to their proper places. Three of them however, were in more complicated positions. Two had slipped through Luna’s skin and wormed between her ribs to rest against her lungs while a third coiled loosely around her heart. That last one worried me, though the theme of the change would suggest that I had felt the need to know Luna was with me and safe.

“Where are those tendrils?” Luna asked worriedly.

“Nowhere threatening, they just wanted to feel you breathe and live,” I responded as I removed the tendrils and ensured that they hadn’t done any damage. It was almost painful for me to pull away from the rhythmic pumping of Luna’s heart, the powerful organ’s cadence easing away my stress until I broke off the contact.

“I’m not dying anytime soon,” Luna chided as she rolled over and pushed her back against my chest. I could only assume that it was still much to early for Luna to wake up, given that she settled in to fall back asleep right away.

Luna stiffened for a moment when my hand wandered up to rest on her chest and feel her pulse once more, though she relaxed and placed her hoof over my hand after a moment to recognize that it had been a conscious action. Luna finally fell back asleep a little over a minute later and although I was essentially alone again, I now had forty reminders a minute that I wasn’t.

Author's Notes:

I actually had this written on the 8th, but I wasn't happy with the direction and bugged the others into admitting that they didn't like it either. On a related note, we're now pulling from the most active people on the [Discord to be prereaders and share their thoughts on the story as it develops.

Eric's Editor's Note:

Jooooin usssssss~~~